At dusk on a November evening in 2020 Kate, in the middle of a two-week quarantine period, just can’t take it anymore. She feels claustrophobic in her small house and needs to walk. Surely no one will know if she slips outside for a quick solitary walk?
But her neighbour sees her leaving and her son soon realises she’s missing. This wouldn’t be a problem until Kate falls and badly injures herself.
I will read anything that Sarah Moss writes and with The Fell, I am not disappointed. It took me a few pages to get into the rhythm of the stream of consciousness writing but, after that, I was drawn along by the story. Would the walk in the wildness sate Kate’s need for fresh air? Could she overcome her guilt about what she was doing? How would her son deal with the fact that he didn’t know where his mother was?
It’s a short novel and I read it in a single day, needing to know how it ended. The author questions how we deal with the current pandemic as individuals, trying to do our best to continue leading lives worth living. It’s suspenseful and wise and demonstrates how compassion and kindness can support us all.
To read more about The Fell, visit Goodreads.